Luke 11:37-54
Six Woes
37When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised.
39Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
42"Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
43"Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.
44"Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it."
45One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also."
46Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.
47"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' 50Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.
52"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
53When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54waiting to catch him in something he might say.
Jesus did not wash (His hands), before He ate with the Pharisees, and they take exception to Him not washing...Mosaic Law taught the people what they ate and touched could make them unclean to worship God...So the Jewish people would regularly wash their hands, glasses, utensils, and plates before eating so they would be right before God...Washing the outside of a cup does not make the inside of the cup clean, as He explains throughout the six woes...The Pharisees followed these laws and the laws of tithing very meticulously and in great detail...But Jesus tells the Pharisees they neglect justice and the love of God...They should practice justice and love while keeping their tithing laws...
The second woe was that the Pharisees loved to sit in the most important seats in the synagogues...They also sat and stood in the most important greeting areas in the marketplace...The Pharisees were teachers of the law and often taught the Scriptures and sat in the seats of their choice...Even though the were the teachers, Jesus takes exception to this...
The third woe was the Pharisees would walk over unmarked graves, which other men walk over with out knowing it...In grave sites and tomb areas, the people were not to touch the markers or tombstones because this would make them unclean and they would have to go through a cleansing process...
The fourth woe is that the Pharisees weight down the people with that they can hardly carry and they do not lift one finger to help the people who need help and need to repent...
The fifth woe is that the Pharisees build tombs for the prophets, yet their forefathers killed them (the prophets)...Yet, the Pharisees approved of what their forefathers did, when they killed the prophets...
The sixth woe is that the Pharisees have taken away the key to knowledge and have not entered the door, that they need to enter...And the Pharisees are hindering others with entering the door that they need to enter...People can criticize others, because none of us are perfect...The Pharisees, who were the teachers of the law, should be helping the people with their knowledge of Scriptures...
Jesus teaches us much here on being a hypocrite...Being hypocritical and being ambitious are often linked...A hypocrite is a way to deceive people...Hypocrites teach do as I say, not as I do...The Jewish people killed the prophets, when they were alive and preaching...It is easy to say I follow the teachings of the prophets and saints now, they are dead...Would we have followed their message if we were there with them?...
We must realize everyone is a sinner...This everyone includes all of us...Jesus is trying to teach the Pharisees about being a hypocrite and that helping others is as important as following every Jewish Law in detail...He teaches that we are to be humble, work humbly, and let the weakest and those in need be first, allow those the comfort (of the best seats) that they were taking...
We need meekness, patience, be non-hypocritical, a willingness to help others, an open mind and agree not to turn the backs on the prophets and their message (since their message was unpopular and hard to follow), and we must practice what the Scripture teaches and not just pull out the parts of it that we like and want to teach...We all must look at our own hearts (what's on our inside) and know we must be cleansed and reborn...We must daily practice seeking and practicing the gospel...We cannot look at some (small) things in Scripture and acknowledge those and forget about loving God and loving our neighbors...
The Pharisees reacted harshly and began to oppose Him fiercely...The Pharisees, who were the teachers of Scripture in their day, knew the Scriptures better than almost everyone...The Pharisees wanted an outward appearance that would look nice, and get compliments from man...However, it is what's on the inside, that is important...They had read the Scriptures, yet did not really know them...In there reading the Scriptures they missed some of the Scripture's meaning...In the same sense, they missed seeing the Messiah right in front of them...How could they have missed Him, with all the contact, seeing the miracles, and having the conversations (they had) with Him?...Woe to us, if we miss Him...